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off-roading
OK Auto
Trail Work Detail III
Nothing like spending the hottest day of the
spring working in the woods clearing trails of brush and endless thorn
bushes. One plus to this is the opportunity to create new trails and play
on them. This little place recently discovered offers a variety of
interesting trails. In it's previous life this property was a quarry then
local trash dump, we moved in to clear the way to make a fun local place to do
some wheelin'.
There are lots of sections that offer
dips and humps to stretch the suspension to new levels, hills made of round
riverstone that is like quicksand to a vehicle, and off-camber situations that
add to the white knuckle indentations on a steering wheel.
We started our day creating a small
riverside loop, this was sort of a bust so we gave up for now and moved on to
clear some previously created trails of brush. After a few hours of
clearing and some playing we decided it was time for fun and we went for a ride.
The first section we went through was
called viagra hill. This is a steep downhill section with a large iron
pipe protruding out of the ground. Not much of a challenge but neat
because if the decline. See pics n and o.
a |
b |
c |
d |
e |
f |
g |
h |
i |
j |
k |
l |
m |
n |
o |
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Soon after that we arrived at a tight
twisty section that led into a deep hole that was like a cereal bowl.
There were a couple of large rocks and a lot of those round riverstones.
Jim tried it first, pictures (a thru h) he went back and forth for quite a
while. He tried different lines and approaches but couldn't get out.
Jim's Jeep is well equipped, it has 35" Swampers, Dana 60 rear, Dana 44
front (both equipped with ARB's and 4.56's), OME lift, and a GM V6 with an
automatic. If you look at picture (e) you can see both front shackle
inverted due to extreme flex. Finally the old winch cable was extended and
Jim's Jeep was free.
Next it was my turn, I was excited
thinking about a good opportunity to use my new winch. I hooked up the
winch cable and proceeded into the hole. After some working and slipping
around I amazingly made it to the top. See pics (i thru k). This was
one of the situations that front locker made the difference. I think with
Jim chewing the hill up before me helped me escape the hole without winching.
Then came Chuck in his FJ-40, (Yes,
it's not a Jeep but too bad, the main objective of off roading is the fun and
challenge whatever your driving) he pulled down into the hole and began his
act. He tried and tried, even got close way off to the side in the brush
but in the end the heavy FJ couldn't make it. So Chuck extended his winch
and out he came.
Till next time.
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